The Japan Society Review

Edited by James E. Auer Tsuneo Watanabe, the editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun, which has a circulation of over ten million, the largest of any Japanese newspaper, established in 2005 a committee of Japanese journalists. The committee was to produce a careful historical analysis with the aim of telling the Japanese people, a majority of whom were born after the war: "Who was responsible for starting the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, why they did so and why the nation kept fighting until many of its cities had been almost completely reduced to ashes." This book in English and two volumes in Japanese contain the findings of this committee. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Philip Harper Once found only in sushi bars and Japanese restaurants, Sake now lines the shelves of gourmet food shops, supermarkets and restaurants of all persuasions, listed alongside the customary wine selections. Sake brewmaster Philip Harper provides the ultimate introduction by the ultimate insider. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Herbert P. Bix In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose sixty-three-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix shows what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize Review by Ben-Ami Shillony

Annotated and Introduced by Timon Screech This edition makes available once again Thunberg’s extraordinary writings on Japan, complete with illustrations, a full introduction and annotations. Carl Peter Thunberg, pupil and successor of Linnaeus – of the great fathers of modern science – spent eighteen fascinating months in the notoriously inaccessible Japan in 1775-1776, and this is his story. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

Edited by Mark Williams & Rachael Hutchinson Representing the Other in Modern Japanese Literature looks at the ways in which authors writing in Japanese in the twentieth century constructed a division between the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’ in their work. Drawing on methodology from Foucault and Lacan, the clearly presented essays seek to show how Japanese writers have responded to the central question of what it means to be ‘Japanese’ and of how best to define their identity. Review by Suefen Tsai

By Toshiyuki Masujima To properly understand Japan's spectacular postwar economic transformation and its subsequent struggled to adjust in the post-bubble nineties, it is vital to grasp the administrative dynamics which uniquely underpinned its economic success and are determining its future. This book is an enlightening overview of the major administrative reforms spanning the early postwar years to the present day. It explains the significance of all the main changes that have shaped Japanese government and seeks to rank their individual importance. Review by Sean Curtin

By Emmanuel Cooper Widely recognized as the father of studio pottery, Bernard Leach (1887-1979) played a pioneering role in creating an identity for artist potters in Britain and around the world. Born in the East (Hong Kong) and educated in the West (England), throughout his life Leach perceived himself as a courier between the disparate cultures. This outstanding biography provides for the first time a vivid and detailed account of Leach's life and its relation to his art. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

Edited by Takashi Inogushi Crafting policy toward Asia is a difficult balancing act for Japan. Saddled by ill will in Asia left over from its militarist legacy of the first half of the twentieth century on the one hand and restrained by a United States eager to maintain its own position of power in Asia on the other, Japan has had to pick a narrow path. Its strong economic links to Asia have necessitated continuous and cordial relations with its Asian neighbors, and, as the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s revealed, those links keep Asia and Japan's fortunes tied closely together. This book gives a comprehensive account of Japan's Asian policy, its historical background and its current bilateral and regional interactions, as well as explores how those have changed or remained the same in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Review by Takahiro Miyao

By Richard Katz After seven long years of economic malaise, it is clear that something has gone awry in Japan. Unless Japan undertakes sweeping reform, official forecasts now warn, growth will steadily dwindle. How could the world's most acclaimed economic miracle have stumbled so badly? As this important book explains, the root of the problem is that Japan is still mired in the structures, policies, and mental habits of the 1950s-1960s. Review by Takahiro Miyao

Edited by Gordon de Brouwer While the financial crisis in East Asia could be said to be on the wane in some countries, the reconstruction process in the aftermath and the debate about the financial policies best suited to the region still rages on. This book examines both of these processes in authoritative detail. Review by Takahiro Miyao